Solomon: Harrison twins soar to elite recruit status

Updated 11:56 pm, Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Aaron Harrison (3), and his twin brother Andrew have narrowed their possible college destinations to Baylor, Kentucky, Maryland and Villanova.

Aaron Harrison (3), and his twin brother Andrew have narrowed their possible college destinations to Baylor, Kentucky, Maryland and Villanova.

Photo: Diana L. Porter

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Andrew Harrison (5) and his twin brother Andrew have narrowed their possible college destinations to Baylor, Kentucky, Maryland and Villanova.

Andrew Harrison (5) and his twin brother Andrew have narrowed their possible college destinations to Baylor, Kentucky, Maryland and Villanova.

Photo: Karen Warren

Solomon: Harrison twins soar to elite recruit status

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MANVEL - Despite the playoff intensity and pressure, knowing that a loss meant the season was over, Aaron Harrison dribbled up the floor with the ease of someone playing around in his driveway.

It can be like that when you know you are the best player on the court.

At times, Harrison flashed into the paint for an easy layup. On some trips, he planted hard for a pull-up jumper. Occasionally, he resorted to a floater in the lane.

Bucket after bucket after bucket.

Basically, the 6-5 junior guard did whatever he wanted to do Tuesday night, and by game's end, he had poured in a school postseason-record 44 points to lead Fort Bend Travis to a 78-55 playoff victory over Pearland.

And what did Harrison, who barely seemed to break a sweat, think of his sterling performance?

"Nice, but it really doesn't matter to me," said Harrison, who hit six 3-pointers and was 14-of-16 from the foul line. "I could have had five points, and I would have been happy."

Interesting that Harrison threw out the random number five, because his younger brother Andrew, a full minute younger, was in foul trouble for much of the game and finished with only six points after fouling out midway through the fourth quarter. Brotherly competition was hardly an issue after the blowout victory.

"They don't operate like that," their father, Aaron Harrison Sr., said. "They don't count points or keep track of what's happening with the scorebook. That's not what is important to them. I'm proud of that."

Tough game no big deal

Andrew, who contributed seven rebounds and seven assists in his limited action, hardly noticed his point total.

"That's no big deal. I could have had zero points, but if we still win, I would be happy," he said. "There is no competition between me and Aaron. I think he is the best player in the country. So on a night like tonight, we should just give him the ball and get out of his way."

That is pretty much what Travis did en route to its 31st victory against only three losses this season.

"Even at the end, they were pressing, and we were trying to get him the record, but he was still giving the ball up. He's very unselfish. It wasn't an 'I'm going to take 40 shots' or anything like that. It was in the flow of the game."

It was simply the best player on the court proving how good he is. And that is no disrespect to Pearland's Cameron Reynolds, who hustled hard to rack up 28 points, and Travis' Christian Crockett, who spent much of the night hanging on the rim to get to 16 points.

Then again, Andrew, who runs the point, is ranked higher than his twin in most recruiting rankings. That matters little to either, as each is listed among the top 10 juniors in the country. They were offered college scholarships in the seventh grade and have narrowed their school choice to Baylor, Kentucky, Maryland and Villanova.

Expectations aren't a bother, but Harrison says he tries to shield his sons from the excessive attention, particularly the negative.

"People who don't know them write things about them, and if you don't know them, you might think they are tough guys," the elder Harrison said. "But if you got to know them, you would see that they are just goofy kids. At least that is what I think of them. And in many ways, it's what their teammates think of them."

Smooth, talented and among the best players in the country, the Harrisons hardly bring to mind the word goofy as a description of them on the court. Soft spoken yet personable, the two appear to have a bright future.

The Harrisons say that is secondary to the task at hand. The No. 1-ranked squad in the area is thinking about a trip to Austin.

"We just keep playing hard and stay humble," Andrew said. "You can't let that get into your head. Those rankings have nothing to do with our goal of winning the state championship."

Unfinished business

Travis lost to Hightower in the Region III final a year ago.

"Their expectation of themselves is to win, so it doesn't matter what anybody else says," Aaron Harrison Sr. said. "They have played basketball a long time, and they have been on the winning side of things for a really long time, since they were 7. They have been blessed in that sense, and that - with a lot of hard work - has led them to set the bar very high."